FAULT ROCKS IN THE HIMALAYAN FRONTAL FOLD-THRUST-BELTS

Abstract

The Frontal Fold Ihrust Belt in NW Himalayas is made of two sedimentary lithotectonic zones: The Lesser Himalaya Zone (LHZO) and the Sub-Himalaya Zone (SHZ). The LII! is made of Proterozoic to Early Cambrian rocks and SF1! is composed of Cenozoic rocks deposited after the collision of Indian and Asian plates. The foreland shows development of a number of thrusts which form an important part of the frontal fold thrust belts. The fabric and microfabrics of these rocks vary greatly from south to north. The thrusts towards south show evidences of brittle deformation and as we move towards north the deformation becomes progressively more ductile. 'Ihus it is vital to understand the variations in lährics and microfabrics of these thrusts and the present dissertation is directed towards the same goal. The main objectives of this dissertation are targeted towards: Documenting systematically the variations in fabrics and microfabrics of fault rocks from south to north across the Frontal Fold Thrust Belt ofNW Ilirnalavas Undertaking a classification of the fault rocks on the basics of presence of and amount of matrix and presence of and extent of foliations.